Surfaces are hotbeds of microorganism activity. Serious illnesses, such as influenza, are easily spread by simple human touch. Common objects in public spaces, such as shared telephones and keyboards in offices, railings and seats in public transportation, check out touch screens at the supermarket, and even doorknobs, can all harbor dangerous viruses and bacteria. Harmful microorganisms may also be found on standard surfaces in American homes. For example, kitchens may harbor dangerous bacteria like Escherichia coli (a.k.a. “E. Coli”), Camphylobacter, and Salmonella, which can lead to food based illnesses such as food poisoning. Touch surfaces such as countertops and faucet, refrigerator, and cabinet handles are common breeding grounds for microbes.
While conventional disinfectant sprays and wipes kill some of these microorganisms, they do not prevent additional microorganisms from infecting these same areas shortly after cleaning. As a result, these surfaces need to be continually wiped down in order to prevent continuing microbe growth. Further, because traditional disinfectants work by poisoning infectious agents, it is possible for those agents to develop resistance to the treatment. This can result in the creation of a more dangerous infectious agent than the one originally targeted for destruction. One famous example of these types of resistant, dangerous microorganisms is the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA. Indeed, traditional treatments are not always effective against so-called “superbugs” like MRSA.
There is a significant need for an improved treatment for surfaces and other solid and porous substrates in order to prevent the spread of unhealthy microorganisms. There is further a need for such treatment to destroy infectious agents without risk of increasing resistance or creating resistant agents and to destroy dangerous resistant infectious agents that would not be destroyed with traditional treatments.